Wine & Book Group Pick for November '07

abstract:Madonna is the most famous female pop artist of our time; singer-songwriter, dancer, record and film producer, actress, and a fashion icon. She has won multiple Grammy and Golden Globe awards and is known for her controversial music videos, stage performances, and use of political, sexual, and religious themes in her work. Discover the woman behind the mystery. Journalist Lucy O'Brien's groundbreaking biography, Madonna: Like an Icon (HarperCollins, Nov 2007) gets at the heart of Madonna's chameleonlike existence. Extensively researched and perceptively written, it explores the complex personality and legendary drive that made her "the world's most successful female musican" (Guinness Book of World Records). A great book to discuss with your group over equally provocative wines picked for you by our partners at www.womenwine.com

article:November 06, 2007 —

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About the Author

Lucy O'Brien grew up in Southhampton, England, where she attended convent school and started her own all-female punk band called The Catholic Girls. She later quit the band in order to focus on her "A" levels and further education. She became the school newspaper editor at Leeds University [sidebar: where J.R.R. Tolkien was faculty 1920-25 and Mark Knopfler graduated in English '76] and went on to write for The Guardian and The Independent, and music magazines MOJO and Q Magazine.

It may very well be Lucy's own sense of '60s feminism and rebellion that allows her to get inside the psyche of the music artists she writes about. Her first bestselling biography of British soul legend Dusty Springfield (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1989) brought new attention to the artist's musical career. Her next subject for biography was Annie Lennox: Sweet Dreams Are Made of This (St Martin's Press, 1993). Both books have gone to second edition printing, and taken Lucy into the media position of rockumentary commentator.

Madonna: Like an Icon is Lucy's latest single-artist biography, and given the status of the artist, it will surely be an important contribution to the field. The material girl turns fifty next year, a milestone that causes one to pause and take stock of one's accomplishments and stumbling points with a view to the future.

The reader will be fascinated to learn details that shaped Madonna's life and career. We've all been subjected to the tabloid news, we've all followed her private life with some degree of disaffected voyeurism, we've all wondered what the truth is. My copy of Madonna:Like an Icon is in the mail. I am scheduled to interview the author, and interested to learn what she thinks of this second-generation Italian immigrant daughter of an engineer from Bay City, Michigan, who became the foremost pop icon of this century. Does Madonna have any regrets? What fuels her drive? How does she balance public and private life? Where is she headed next? Stay tuned!

Women Wine Picks

Our partners at www.womenwine.com are brilliant at matching wines with our books. Please click through to their website and you can purchase by the bottle or by the case and share with your book group when you discuss this book (with extra bottles added to your growing cellar.)